We live in an age of constant self affirmation. At times it seems as if it is accepted that our emotions reside within us as a compass and our heart is entrusted with leading the most important decision of our lives. In an age where top universities celebrate self acceptance1 and popular figures claim that God put them on this earth “to tell my story. To be authentic to myself, to who I am,” the claims of God have never been so radical, yet so important.
In Matthew 16:24 Jesus says to his disciples “if anyone would come up after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” This verse serves as the foundation for what we call “Christian Discipleship.” Jesus makes an explicit, direct, and personal claim as he highlights the very nature of what following Christ really is. This claim tells his disciples that following Jesus would cost them more than they would ever dare to give up, but would reward them in ways beyond their wildest dreams.
One cannot attempt to understand the implications of such a passage for a reader today before seeking to understand the context for the characters back then. While today the cross is seen as a beloved Christian symbol of love, sacrifice, and hope, it was not seen in such a pleasant light to first century Jews. The cross in Jesus’ time was undoubtedly a symbol of shame, suffering, and death. It was a tool of cruelty utilized by the Roman Empire to punish whomever they deemed fit to a death of their dignity, reputation, and life. It played a central role in Roman crucifixion in where the person subject to such a horrific death would be forced by Roman officials to carry their own cross unto whenever they would be appointed to, usually a place where the public could see, and then be nailed to it to as they hang upon it until they died by suffocation, blood loss, or some other inflicted injury. Doesn’t sound too appealing, right?
Jesus knew this and used it as a dramatic example to display the severity of following him in that day and days to come. Jesus knew that the flesh opposed everything that the cross stood for, but following Christ could bring the same shame, suffering, and in extreme cases, even death that the cross brings. This is why Jesus is not calling his disciples to take up a specific cross at a specific time, but to make the daily decision to die to oneself to surrender to God. It is only by dying to oneself that a man can live unto God. It is not a matter of a man physically dying to follow Christ, but ensuring each day that he has the willingness to.
Attaining such a willingness can only be done through denial of the self and, specifically speaking, the flesh. Jesus was telling the disciples that their fleshly desire to put themselves first, seek their own comfort and fulfillment of their desires, must be crucified daily. His call to the disciples was an objective assertion about following Christ in general and henceforth applies to anyone who seeks to follow him. This is how it applies to us today.
Each day we fight the mental battle of temptation. When we choose not to deny ourselves and we indulge in our wants we allow our sinful desires to rule over our decisions, actions, and thoughts. It is this temptation to do so that we fight by denying ourselves and seeking something better, something higher, something that loves us more than our sin ever could. This “something” is Jesus Christ.
The cost of following Christ in today’s time is high, but the reward of doing so is matchless. Jesus calls us to follow him and let God worry about the consequences. When we do so we become less worried about what we may lose in our pursuit of Christ and more thankful about what we gain when we do so.
Written by Brock Bridle